Abhorrence
by cutespider
Summary: Rin comes back to Iwatobi after all those years, to find that he and Haru have drifted apart more than he'd expected. And Makoto isn't exactly emitting friendly vibes towards him either... rated M for language.
1. Chapter 1

I wrote this a while back so forgive me for any mistakes. This is an AU of sorts, nothing much has changed except the characters are interested in different things. Rated M for language. I don't own **_Free!_**

* * *

"Come on Rin, you can do it! Another 50 and you'll be done!" Gou said.

Rin felt the sweat on his face as he managed another shaky press-up. "G-Gou…" he stuttered, breathing heavily. "Why the- ah-!" He felt his arms collapse under him.

Gou kicked him. "You need to stay in shape!" she instructed. She looked at the stopwatch around her neck. "I could have finished in half your time!"

Rin was panting and lying on the ground. "I'll stick to fishing…" he said indistinctly.

"Fishing won't get you a girlfriend!" Gou yelled.

"I don't give a damn," he said, pressing his face against the cold floor.

Gou stormed out of the room. Rin pushed himself up on his weak, aching arms. He stood up and made his way out of the gym.

"Rin!" came a familiar voice. He turned around, wiping the sweat of his face with his t-shirt.

Nagisa waved and strode towards him. He was dressed in his usual expensive attire. Rin swore he'd seen that shirt on sale for at least thirty thousand yen.

"_Another_ photoshoot?" Rin asked sardonically, as he noticed the direction Nagisa had come from.

"Yeah! You'll see me on the front cover of Mizushi any day soon!" Nagisa winked at him. "You seem out of breath. Been working out?"

"More like 'tortured'," Rin muttered. He looked towards the fishing docks longingly.

Nagisa laughed. "See you at school then," he said, waving again before running off. Rin sighed heavily and then began walking to the docks.

He had enrolled at Iwatobi the day before. Of course, the little nit Nitori had started crying and grabbing him, begging him to stay. Rin scoffed out loud. Couldn't the nit leave him alone for once? Rin didn't even properly know him.

The captain had been happy to get rid of him; even if he hadn't said so, Rin could tell. They didn't get on all that well – the captain liked order and control, but wherever Rin went, chaos was guaranteed to occur.

As for his classmates at Iwatobi… the girls became interested after he mentioned his time in Australia. He wasn't sure the boys felt the same way. And Haru, Makoto and Nagisa had all changed a_ lot _since he last saw them.

Rin scowled as he thought of them. They hadn't even tried to bloody contact him whilst he was in Australia. He glared at the pavement, kicking small pebbles. One hit a young child who began crying. His mother looked alarmed and picked her child up and hurried away. Rin stuck his middle finger up at her and felt a bit better.

Rin had been trying to befriend Haru, who was distant and didn't have any friends because he knew the feeling. He talked to him whenever he could. Haru had just started to fucking warm up to him, when he had had to move to fucking Australia-

Rin kicked a wall in frustration and swore loudly. He was at the docks now. He clenched his jaw and went down to the boats. Fishing always calmed him down. If he didn't get in one of those damn boats soon he was going to hurt somebody. Or himself.

He shut his eyes tightly and counted to ten out loud. When he opened his eyes again, an old fisher man was smiling at him. Rin forced himself to smile back.

"Good morning, Rin," the man said warmly. "I have the fishing boat set up over here."

Rin followed the man to his boat. "Thanks," he managed to say. He really didn't want to make the fisher man sad by yelling or glaring at him, so he avoided his eyes.

"You're very welcome," the man said. He smiled, and then walked back to the dock.


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own _**Free!**_

* * *

"Matsuoka, Rin?"

"Here."

He kept his eyes directly on the desk in front of him. He could feel people's eyes on him, but he wasn't going to look at them. At any of them. Especially not-

"Nanase, Haruka?"

Rin's hands balled into fists. _Fuck him. Fuck them all. _

"Here."

_I know you're here. And I wish you weren't, _Rin thought.

"Tachibana, Makoto?"

_You as well. Fuck you. _Rin dared look up from the desk. A shy girl at the front of the class was looking at him nervously. He glared at her and she blushed and looked back to the teacher.

"So, class," Miss Amakata said, putting down the register. "Today we'll be doing some creative writing about friendship, about the emotions and the concept."

There were some groans around the classroom. Rin glared at her now, but she didn't look at him. She asked the shy girl to give paper out. Rin snatched a piece off her and she scuttled away.

He stared at the blank sheet of paper. A quiet voice in his head spoke up - _no, Rin, don't do this. You'll be in trouble on your second day_… but he was so angry now he couldn't help himself.

* * *

"Let's read some out, shall we? Nanami, you first."

A girl called Nanami started reading out something about how she loves spending time with her girlfriends and how she knew they'd always be there for her. Rin felt angrier with every word she said.

"An excellent piece, Nanami. Let's see… Rin?"

People turned and muttered to each other. Rin ignored them all and began to read.

"I don't have any friends." He announced. There was a chorus of quiet laughter and rude remarks. "I don't have any friends because I don't fucking need any." The buzz of noise stopped, and was replaced by a silence. Kids were staring at him, open-mouthed, looking from him to Miss Amakata like they were watching a game of tennis. "They fuck you over and let you deal with it. They say they'll always be there with you and then… and then they fucking leave you."

Miss Amakata's mouth was wide open with shock. Rin felt a sudden rush of pride.

"Ri- Matsuoka… Detention. After school." She hesitated, shaking her head. "Stand outside the classroom, I'll come and speak to you in a minute." Rin packed his things away and pushed his desk away from him. He didn't look at any of his classmates on his way out, but knew they were all watching him.

Miss Amakata came out after a few minutes. "Matsu- Rin," she started. _She's trying to be friendly,_ Rin knew. "Why…"

She didn't have to finish her question. "Because it's true." Rin snapped. She stepped back.

"But why did you feel the need to use such vulgar-"

"YOU FUCKING ASKED ME!" Rin yelled. In his mind he saw Haru and Makoto and Nagisa laughing at him, which just made him angrier. "YOU asked me to read my work, so I did! And then I get reprimanded for it?"

Her expression of shock turned to one of anger. "MR MATSUOKA! Don't you dare yell me! That's not how things work at this school!"

Rin didn't have anything else to say, and thinking about his ex-friends made him hurt too much to talk anyway, so he just scowled at her. There was a silence that dragged on for what seemed like hours.

Finally, Miss Amakata sighed. "Something's clearly troubling you." Rin stayed silent. "It's almost break. You can come back into class if you behave." Rin crossed his arms. _I don't want to stay in this fucking class, _he thought, but this wasn't a good start to his new school life. What would Dad have said?

Thinking about his father filled Rin with grief. His vision became blurry. Miss Amakata mistook his silence for agreement. "Come on, then," she said gently.

The classroom was utterly silent, except for the sound of pens scratching onto paper – which stopped when Rin entered.

He looked up just for a second, to scowl at the idiots, when he saw Haru.

It seemed like every muscle in his body tensed up. His heart was pumping adrenaline instead of blood.

_"__Don't worry. I know how it feels to be alone."_

_"__Really?"_

_"__Really. I don't like people that much. They're annoying, aren't they? But you're different."_

_"__I don't like people either. And… thank you, I suppose."_

_"__We can be friends, right?"_

Miss Amakata tapped his arm. "Back to your desk, please," she whispered.

He held his head up high, blinking to clear his vision, and walked over to the desk. A girl whispered something to her friend so he 'accidently' stood on her foot.

The bell rang almost as soon as he sat down.


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own _**Free!**_

* * *

"Rei-chan!" Nagisa yelled as he ran out of the classroom. People still stared. Nagisa didn't mind; he loved being friends with Rei, no matter how much of a nerd he was. A model, whose BFF was a science geek. But who cared what people thought of their friendship?

Rei pushed his glasses up and went slightly pink. "Hello." He said, looking down at the blond boy.

"I really need to grow!" Nagisa said, sulking playfully, standing on tiptoes to seem taller.

Rei looked away to hide his smile.

"Let's go outside!"

It was a warm day. They went to sit on the grass.

"How did you do on the maths test, Rei-chan?" Nagisa asked, playing with some strands of grass.

"Ah, I… I got 100%," Rei said, trying to sound modest.

"OH! You're so smart," Nagisa laughed. "I got 60%!"

"You need to study harder." It was out of Rei's mouth before he'd even thought about it. He blushed and stuttered, "I mean-"

"Don't worry Rei. I know maths isn't my strong subject." Nagisa said, patting his arm to calm him.

Rei smiled again. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a group of girls hiding behind a bush, looking at Nagisa.

"So, what- HEY LOOK!" Nagisa yelled, suddenly on his feet, waving his arms and knocking Rei's glasses off.

"I can't look if my glasses are on the floor!" Rei cried, feeling around on the grass to try and find them. He put them on and looked in the same direction as Nagisa.

"Oh, is that a new student?" Rei wondered aloud, as he noticed a boy with red hair.

"Hello Rin!" Nagisa said. "Did you see me on Mizushi?"

"Shut it, midget," Rin snapped.

Rei looked at the boy. "That's very rude," he stated.

Rin flipped him off.

"I don't like this friend of yours," Rei whispered.

"I don't like you either, nerd."

"Sh, Rin. This is my friend Rei." Nagisa told him.

"I don't give a shit." Rin walked away.

"I think he's a bit upset," Nagisa said knowingly.

"He doesn't seem particularly happy to see you, Nagisa. Why is that? What has happened between you?"

Nagisa looked sad. "I don't know. He went to Australia and came back angry with sharp teeth. I wonder if he's spoken to Haru-chan or Mako-chan recently."

Rei thought. "I don't know who they are," he admitted.

"We used to all be best friends in the swim club when we were little." Nagisa explained. "But when Rin left something happened. They don't talk to me anymore."

"But you still call them –chan?"

Nagisa smiled sadly. "I hope one day we can all be friends again."


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own _**Free!**_

* * *

"You saw Rin earlier?"

They were in a secluded area behind the school. Makoto was leaning back against the wall, smoking a cigarette. Haru looked into the window.

"Yes. And he looked angry. I could almost read his mind." Haru's eyed widened. "_I'm going to kill Haru when I get the chance._"

"I doubt he's going to go that far," Makoto reassured him.

"He will. He's tried before."

"He wasn't trying to kill you. He was just antagonising you. There's a difference."

"There really wasn't. He would have killed me if Coach Sasabe hadn't told him to put the pool noodle down."

Makoto sighed. "He won't dare touch you. He'll just glare at you passive-aggressively. You know how he is."

"Have you seen his teeth? He's going to rip me apart."

Just then, Rin walked into view.

"SEE?!" Haru hissed.

Rin turned his head slowly. He stared at both of them.

"Please don't." Haru said quietly.

"Please don't fucking what?" Rin yelled.

"You're going to kill me."

"What the-"

"Hey," Makoto said, stepping towards Rin. He threw the cigarette on the floor. "Why did you come back?"

Rin was silent.

"To kill us," Haru said. Makoto turned and smiled at him reassuringly.

"He's not going to kill anybody," Makoto said, more to Rin than Haru, still smiling.

"How do you know?" Rin spat.

"Because if you do, you'll be in a lot of trouble."

"What, you gonna tell on me to the teachers?" Rin mocked.

"Not teachers, no. But I know people."

Rin was quiet again, frowning.

The bell rang again.

"See you in class then, Rin," Makoto said.

* * *

"Idiot. Why did you say that?" Haru asked. The classroom was noisy with students gossiping and laughing, so no-one was listening to them.

"Say what?" Makoto asked. He looked at Rin and saw he still looked perplexed.

"_I know people._ You're going to get arrested. And then-"

"I won't get arrested; he doesn't even understand yet. And if he decides to tell anyone he'll be dead before he gets the chance."

Haru sighed. "You don't get it, do you?" he said condescendingly, shaking his head.

Makoto shrugged and laughed. "You know best, I suppose," he smiled. "I won't give him any more hints."

"Good." Haru said. He stared at Rin.

"I wonder why he came back?" said Makoto, reading Haru's expression. "Apart from 'to kill us.'"

They were both quiet. Rin had just left to go to Australia without a word. They had assumed he'd gone forever.

"A better question is what happened to his teeth," said someone at the desk next to them. They turned to see who it was.

"I know him. He used to live next door to me," said the boy. He had brown hair and warm eyes. He was smiling at them.

Haru looked at him suspiciously. "Did he tell you why he was leaving?" he asked.

The boy shrugged. "He said something about his parents wanting to take him out of your swim club."

"That's not very nice," said Makoto.

"I agree. So what are your names then? I'm Chikato."

"Don't tell him," muttered Haru.

"Didn't you hear in the register?" Makoto asked.

Chikato frowned, trying to remember.

"Oh, well," he said.

The bell rung for lunch.

"See you later," Chikato said.

"How does he know we went to the same swim club as Rin?" Haru asked when they got outside.

Makoto stared at him. "Hm… Rin must have told him. But then how come he doesn't know our names?"

"Hey, Mako-chan, Haru-chan," they heard Nagisa.

"Hey, Nagisa." Makoto replied.

"Have you seen Rin today?"

"Obviously." Haru said, looking at Rei who was behind the blond. Rei shuffled his feet uncomfortably.

"He's pretty angry, isn't he?" Nagisa asked.

"Yeah. Do you know why?" Makoto asked Nagisa.

"I don't know. I spoke to him yesterday and it seemed like he wanted to get away as soon as possible!"

"Makoto," Haru said, tapping his arm to get his attention and then pointing at two people. Makoto looked and saw Rin and Chikato talking.

"Who is the brown haired boy?" asked Rei.

"We should follow them after school." Haru said.

Rei gasped. "That's stalking!" he said.

"No, it's finding out useful information," said Makoto.

Rei looked at Nagisa. "Are all of your friends like this?" he asked apprehensively.

"No, just the ones from swim club!" Nagisa said, grinning.


	5. Chapter 5

I don't own _**Free!**_

* * *

After school, Rei followed Nagisa, Haru and Makoto. They stayed close to the trees at the side of the pavement.

"Rin," Chikato said. "I saw the guys from your old swim club earlier."

They saw Rin's hands clench into fists. "What did you say?"

"I just acted like I didn't know them. They seem pretty curious as to why you came back."

"Well don't tell them what I told you." Rin said viciously.

"I won't." Chikato said. "How's that… Mitori?"

"Nitori. He's texting me every day. Do you know how to block text messages?"

"Yeah, I'll show you when we get to yours."

They walked off down a path.

"So he knows us." Makoto said.

"WHY DID RIN COME BACK?" Nagisa wailed.

"Sh, Nagisa!" Haru said.

"This is all very confusing," said Rei, pushing up his glasses. "Perhaps we should discuss all the possibilities."

"Yeah, Rei-chan! Let's go to Rei-chan's house and discuss the possibilities!"

"No, Nagisa! You can't invite people to someone else's house!" Rei said, alarmed.

"I can't come anyway," Makoto said, looking around. "I have to be somewhere else."

"And I'm not going in some random person's house," Haru said. "See you another time."

Nagisa sighed. "Just me and you then, Rei."

* * *

**NagisaGangsta-chan: me and rei had a thought!**

**Ryuugazaki356: No, Nagisa. It's 'Rei and I had a thought'.**

**trustmeitslegal: What is it?**

**NagisaGangsta-chan: well maybe rin came back because of something to do with us?**

**PlzdonttrackmyIP: What did I say, Makoto?**

**trustmeitslegal: He's not going to kill us.**

**NagisaGangsta-chan: No! maybe its something else. maybe he misses us?**

**PlzdonttrackmyIP: hahahaaahahaa no**

**Ryuugazaki356: You can't disregard theories like that, Haruka.**

**PlzdonttrackmyIP: HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME**

**NagisaGangsta-chan: i told him**

**PlzdonttrackmyIP: nagisa u are the reason we cant have nice things**

**trustmeitslegal: How do you all feel about rin?**

**NagisaGangsta-chan: hes being mean**

**NagisaGangsta-chan: but I miss the old rin**

**Ryuugazaki356: So perhaps you should make an effort to be nice to him?**

**PlzdonttrackmyIP: NO**

**PlzdonttrackmyIP: HE NEARLY KILLED ME**

**PlzdonttrackmyIP: HE PUT ME IN HOSPITAL**

**NagisaGangsta-chan: he hit you with a pool noodle**

**trustmeitslegal: You were in hospital because you swam outside in the winter.**

**PlzdonttrackmyIP: shut up**

**Ryuugazaki356: I've had another idea.**

**Ryuugazaki356: Maybe, if you all agree…**

**Ryuugazaki356: You could start a new swim club, and invite Rin Matsuoka to join?**

**NagisaGangsta-chan: WOW UR SO SMART REI**

**NagisaGangsta-chan: HAHA SUCKS TO BE U HARU MY BFF IS SMART**

**trustmeitslegal: what are you implying 'gangsta'-chan?**

**PlzdonttrackmyIP: its true though**

* * *

Nagisa lay down on Rei's bed. "I hope Rin wants to join," he said, kicking his legs in the air. "I want to swim with him again! With us all together!"

Rei said nothing and looked down at the piece of paper. Nagisa had asked the 2nd Year teacher, Miss Amakata, for a form to start a swim club.

"So, who should I write on the form?" Rei asked.

"Me, Haru, Makoto, and Rei-chan" Nagisa said.

Rei was taken aback. "Me? But I…"

"What is it, Rei-chan? You want to join too right?" Nagisa said.

Rei stared at him. "Well…" he blushed. "Actually, I can't swim."

Nagisa gasped. "I can teach you!" he yelled excitedly. "I can't wait!"

Rei laughed dryly. "You can't teach me how to swim."

Nagisa stopped smiling. In fact, he looked hurt. "Why?" he said in a small voice.

Rei felt guilty. "Sorry, Nagisa- I meant… you probably…" but Nagisa stood up and picked up his bag.

"See you tomorrow, Rei-chan." he said, and then left.


	6. Chapter 6

I don't own _**Free!**_

* * *

**Senpai-notice-me: Matsuoka-senpai?**

**Senpai-notice-me: Matsuoka-senpai?**

**nitoriplzleave: WHAT**

**Senpai-notice-me: Why aren't you responding to my calls and text messages?**

**nitoriplzleave: read the username**

**Senpai-notice-me: Oh. I'm sorry.**

**Senpai-notice-me: The team misses you.**

**nitoriplzleave: I don't care**

**Senpai-notice-me: I hope we see each other soon.**

**_nitoriplzleave has disconnected_**

**Senpai-notice-me: I miss you.**

* * *

"Why doesn't senpai like me anymore," sighed Nitori. The rain was hitting the concrete pavements hard, and he could hear car wheels splashing through puddles on the road. Nitori was glad he had his hood up.

"Oi," came a voice. Nitori turned.

"You…" the person slowed down. "You got the stuff?" he whispered.

Nitori held out a bag. The man gave him the money, took it and left.

Nitori sighed again. This job was no fun.

"Hey," someone said. Nitori blinked.

"You're Nitori, right?" The guy was about half a foot taller than him. Nitori looked up to see his face.

"'Big Nit', actually," Nitori corrected. "Unless you're a cop, in which case, it's Aitori Nichiro and that is definitely not an anagram."

The other boy smiled at him. "Are you new to this?" he asked.

"No," Nitori said defensively. "I've been doing it for a month,"

"Are you friends with Rin Matsuoka, Big Nit?"

Nitori gasped. "I-I-I… I can't tell you that."

"Well, he was talking about you recently."

Nitori felt butterflies in his stomach. _Senpai was talking about me?!_

"Really?" Nitori said, attempting to sound nonchalant. "What did he say?"

"Something about you texting him every day. He asked Chikato to block your number."

His heart dropped and he felt anger pulse through his veins. "Who is this Chikato?!" he yelled.

The other boy backed away. "I don't know." He looked as though he was about to leave, until he remembered what he originally came to ask. "Do you know why Rin came back from Australia?"

Nitori was still fuming. "He didn't tell me. He stopped talking to me!" he cried.

"Ok. I'm sorry for disturbing you."

The boy walked away.

"Wait!" said Nitori. "Who are you? How do you know Matsuoka-senpai?"

"My name's Makoto. Makoto Tachibana. I used to go to his swim club. We're starting up another one… just don't tell him I said that." Makoto smiled again and left.


	7. Chapter 7

I don't own **_Free!_**

* * *

"Miss Amakata!" Nagisa yelled, waving the paper around, hitting some small 1st Years in their faces. "We have the swim club form!"

"Ok," Miss Amakata said, taking the form from him. She examined it.

"Nagisa, Makoto, Haru and… Rei?" she asked quizzically.

"My BFF!" Nagisa said, striking a pose. He hadn't stayed mad at Rei for long.

"I see." she replied. "Well, you have two weeks of training and then we can enter you into a competition. I hope you can help us win the tourna-"

"Thanks, Miss Ama-chan! Bye!" Nagisa interrupted. He waved and ran away.

* * *

They gathered in Haru's bathroom.

"Makoto, can you _please_ stop breaking into my house," Haru sighed, after he emerged from the bath water.

"If you gave me a spare key-"

"No."

"-then I wouldn't have to. Anyway, I'm just making good use of my skills…"

"Where did you learn how to break into a house?" asked Rei.

Makoto turned to him. "I can't tell you that," he smiled.

Nagisa jumped excitedly. "Mako-chan's involved in all sorts of-"

"Nagisa!"

"Sorry, Mako-chan," Nagisa said unapologetically, still bouncing around. He saw a magazine on the floor. "Hey, it's me on Mizushi!" he said, picking it up. "Aw, Haru-chan, you're so sweet buying this!"

"You left it here the last time you visited."

"Oh."

"Could we possibly get back to the point?" Rei asked. "We've started the swim club. Now what?"

"Now we need to be the best swimmers around so Rin-chan will want to join!" Nagisa said, twirling around.

"Well that sounds easy enough," Rei muttered.

"We have two weeks," Nagisa said, "so Rei-chan really needs to learn how to swim."

"What?" Makoto said, astounded. "You can't swim?"

"Get out of my house," Haru said, splashing him.

Rei wiped the water off his glasses. "Learn some manners, Haruka. Anyway, I'm sure if I study the theory, I'll be fine. That's how I learn most practical things."

"Practical things, like what?" Nagisa said, fluttering his eyelashes up at him.

Rei blushed and pushed his glasses up. He didn't answer.

"Hahaha, Rei-chan," laughed Nagisa, playfully pushing him. He fell in the bath with Haru.

"Calm down, Nagisa," Makoto said, shaking his head. "So. We need a place to practise."

"In here," said Haru, gesturing to the bath.

"I don't think that's going to fit all of us, silly Haru-chan! Even with you and Rei it's a tight squeeze."

Rei shook the water from his hair. "Isn't there a pool near the prison?" he asked, climbing out of the bath. He tried to visualise a map of the town.

"Ah- I can't go there," Makoto said, looking away.

"Well then, what about near the old peoples' home?"

"Eh… can't go there either."

"Hm. What about the public swimming center?"

"Great!" exclaimed Nagisa.

"Ugh." Haru said. He flicked the dolphin toy out of the bath. "It's so crowded in there."

"We'll have to deal with it," Makoto said.


	8. Chapter 8

I don't own _**Free!**_

* * *

"Rei-chaaaaan! Let me see your swimsuit!"

"No, Nagisa-kun! I-I'm still changing…"

Nagisa ran up to him. "Wow," he said, looking at the speedo. "Very… flattering."

Rei looked away and wished he could have gone swimsuit shopping before the practice.

"Let's practise," said Makoto. He was wearing his usual long black and green swimsuit.

"Mako-chan, what's that white powder on your swimsuit?" Nagisa asked, pointing.

"Ah! Um, nothing…" Makoto laughed, hastily wiping away the powder.

"Wow, I look great!" Nagisa yelled, posing in the mirror. "Paparazzi will be everywhere!"

"Don't let them take a picture of me!" Haru said.

"Let's go and swiiiiiiim!" Nagisa shouted, running out of the changing room.

Nagisa cannonballed into the pool, submerging a few floating toddlers. Rei touched the surface of the water lightly with his foot, then drew back. Then touched it again. And drew back.

"The theory…" he said. "I don't understand!"

Haru dived in, swam up to Rei and pulled him in feet first.

"Ahh!" Rei yelled as the water splashed around him. He sank to the bottom, then pushed himself upwards.

"That wasn't what it said in the book!" Rei shouted.

Haru sighed. "Rin's never going to want to join us."

"What did you say about Rin?"

They turned around. A girl stood at the edge of the pool. Her swimsuit pressed tightly against her well defined abs.

"Rin Matsuoka?" she asked.

"Yeah! Do you know him?" Nagisa asked.

"I'm his sister. Where did he go running off to the other day? He was supposed to be working out."

Makoto shrugged. "We want him to join our swim club."

The girl's face lit up. "Brilliant! That'll get him fit."

"The only problem," Makoto continued, "is making him want to join."

"Well I know a guy who could be your captain," she said. "My name's Gou, by the way. Call me Kou if you want to be kicked in the balls."

They nodded nervously.

"I'll send him to your house, Haruka."

Haru's eyes widened. "How- how do you know my name? And HOW DO YOU KNOW WHERE I LIVE?"

"Everyone knows where you live, Haru," she said.

Haru fainted.

"DON'T DROWN, HARUKA!" Rei said, splashing towards him.

"Don't worry," Makoto said. "He can probably breathe underwater."

* * *

"Hello, everyone!"

Seijuurou's grin stretched from ear to ear. The other four boys watched him uncertainly.

He sat down next to Haru. "_So_, why did Ko- _Gou _ask me to be your captain?"

"I don't know, _so_…" said Haru, gesturing to the door.

"Not so fast," Seijuurou laughed.

"Well," Rei said, pushing up his glasses. "I have a slight problem."

"And that is?"

"I can't swim."

Seijuurou laughed, far louder than a normal person. The others exchanged glances.

Seijuurou saw their faces. "Oh." he said. "I thought you were joking."

"Unfortunately not," Rei said coldly.

"Well then," he said, still smiling. "We'll have to get started!"

They walked Seijuurou's private swimming centre in silence. It was getting dark, so the street was illuminated by the streetlamps and the lights on in the swimming centre.

"Wow," Nagisa breathed when they entered the building. "I remember this place! I did some modelling in the pool."

Haru stripped off to his swimsuit and dived in.

"Come on," Seijuurou said, taking off his own clothes. "I'll teach you how to swim."

Rei slid into the pool and immediately sank to the bottom. Nagisa swam down and brought him back up.

"Silly Rei-chan," he said.

"First of all, you need to float," Seijuurou told him.

"'Any object, wholly or partially immersed in a fluid, is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.'" Rei recited.

"You can memorise a principle but you still sink like a rock." Haru said.

The next hour was spent with Seijuurou holding Rei up as he kicked and splashed, and the others idly trying to drown each other.

"Hold their head under and keep away from the arms and legs," Makoto said.

"How do you know, Mako-chan?"

"Yeah, how _do_ you know that?" Haru smirked.

Makoto looked around the room, as though there was a lie written on one of the walls. When he couldn't find any, he pushed Nagisa under the water.

"Ahhhh!" Nagisa spluttered from under the water.

"Look everyone!" said Seijuurou.

Makoto let go of Nagisa and they all turned to watch Rei swimming butterfly.

"Yay!" said Nagisa, water pouring out of his mouth. "Next step: get Rin to join!"

"Rin?" asked Seijuurou. "That boy who went to Australia?"

"Yeah!" Nagisa jumped up. "Do you know him?"

"Yes. Gou's brother." Seijuurou scowled. "That little bitch. It's none of his business if Gou and I-"

"Hello, Sei-chan!" Gou said, running into the swimming centre.

Seijuurou's face lit up. "Gou!" he said happily.

"Let's leave them to it," Makoto said.

"Thank you very much, Seijuurou," said Rei, bowing.


	9. Chapter 9

I don't own _**Free!**_

* * *

**NagisaGangsta-chan: Rin-chan!**

**nitoriplzleave: what**

**NagisaGangsta-chan: You know when we used to swim together?**

**nitoriplzleave: of course **

**nitoriplzleave: when I nearly killed Haru**

**nitoriplzleave: and i would have managed it if coach sasabe hadn't told me to put the pool noodle down**

**plzdonttrackmyIP: that's a traumatising memory**

**plzdonttrackmyIP: don't talk about it**

**nitoriplzleave: good times, right.**

**plzdonttrackmyIP: im still seeing a psychiatrist**

**NagisaGangsta-chan: ANYWAYS**

**NagisaGangsta-chan: me haru makoto and rei-chan are all BFFs and we're swimming again and you're not invited.**

**NagisaGangsta-chan: (unless you want to swim and hang out with us again in which case PLEASE RIN WE MISS YOU)**

**plzdonttrackmyIP: no we don't**

**nitoriplzleave: shut up haru you're a tsundere**

**plzdonttrackmyIP: ok maybe we miss you a bit**

**nitoriplzleave: …**

**nitoriplzleave: really?**

**NagisaGangsta-chan: YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

**plzdonttrackmyIP: yes**

**nitoriplzleave: well**

**nitoriplzleave: I guess I can hang out with you guys again**

**NagisaGangsta-chan: good boy rin-chan**

**NagisaGangsta-chan: you made the right choice**

**plzdonttrackmyIP: yeah if you'd said anything Makoto would've bought a hitman**

**nitoriplzleave: WTF?**

**_NagisaGangsta-chan has disconnected_**

**_plzdonttrackmyIP has disconnected_**

* * *

"Senpai!" Nitori said as a force of habit. He covered his mouth and went bright red as Rin saw him.

There was a long silence. Nitori looked down, uncomfortably.

"Nitori," Rin said in acknowledgement. Nitori looked back up. Rin's head was slightly turned away.

"Se- I mean… Matsuoka-san…" Nitori hesitated. "You look happy."

"Do I?" Rin asked monotonously.

"Have… have you spoken to your old friends?" he asked.

Rin smiled. Nitori's stomach fluttered. "Yes."

Nitori was torn between happiness and jealousy. He obviously wanted the best for Rin, but…

"I… I'm happy for you," Nitori said, avoiding Rin's eyes.

There was another pause. Nitori looked around. Senpai was acting so differently… he felt uneasy.

"Well, I have to go-"

And then Rin walked up to him and pulled him into a hug. Nitori froze.

"Se-se-senpai?" he gasped in disbelief. But didn't Rin hate him?

"Thank you, Nitori," Rin said quietly. Then, as an afterthought; "Ai."

Nitori felt himself go even redder as he realised his face was pressed into Rin's chest. The scent of his clothes was so familiar. Nitori felt embarrassed just thinking that.

"Yo-you're welcome…" he whispered.

Rin let go and smiled again before walking off.


	10. Chapter 10

I don't own **_Free!_**

* * *

"RIN-CHAN!" Nagisa yelled, running towards him and jumping onto him.

"Get off me," Rin said. He looked at Haru.

He'd been thinking about their old friendship a lot lately, and it hurt every time he recalled how close they'd almost been.

But he couldn't put that in words, not in front of Nagisa and the others anyway. So he just nodded at him.

_We'd better have a chance to talk later, _he thought.

"I'm glad we can finally get to know each other," said Rei, holding out his hand. Rin stared at it. Rei coughed in embarrassment, putting it in his pocket.

"It was a waste getting Seijuurou involved," Makoto said, staring at Rin. "Seeing as _he_ was this easily persuaded into joining our group again."

Rin scowled at him.

Nagisa jumped in. "But Rin-chan can still swim with us! We all can!"

"But there are five of us," said Haru.

"Goodbye Makoto," Rin said, smirking at him.

"No," Haru said, much to Rin's disappointment.

"Maybe we'll just stay out of competitions then… or we could take it in turns?" Nagisa suggested.

"Who cares?" Rin snapped. "We'll just swim for fun. At least we're together again. I mean, at least Nagisa, Haru and me are together again." He muttered the last sentence under his breath.

Rei looked from Makoto to Rin, perplexed. He frowned but didn't say anything.

Rin swore. "It's Gou," he said, pointing to a sprinting figure in the distance. "I have to go – haha, go, Gou," he laughed quickly and ran away.

"So…" Rei waited until he was out of earshot. "What's going on between you two?" he asked Makoto.

"Nothing. He's just an immature brat." he replied.

"Could it be something to do with-" Nagisa started.

"No," Makoto cut him off. "Don't worry," he reassured them.


	11. Chapter 11

I don't own **_Free!_**

* * *

Rei had made some excuse to leave and was walking towards his second favourite place in the world, the library. He pulled out a notebook from his bag and scribbled down

**Makoto and Rin – mutual dislike?**

When he was younger he had wanted to be a detective. He would persistently over-analyse anything anyone said, so much that eventually his parents told him that he'd never be able to solve mysteries if he annoyed all the suspects so that they wouldn't talk to him. That was when he decided perhaps he'd like to be a scientist instead.

But right now he wanted to find out what was going on between them.

First he called Nagisa.

"Nagisa…-kun," he added. "Could you tell me anything about Makoto and Rin?"

"About them?" Nagisa said. Rei realised his mistake in phrasing but it was too late.

"Mako-chan's lived around here since he was born, Rin-chan lived here until he was 12 when he left to Australia, and obviously he's just come back! Mako likes to swim backstroke and Rinrin does front crawl and butterfly… Rin secretly-"

Rei hung up. _I'll have to ask someone else._

* * *

"Makoto and Rin?" Haru repeated. Rei heard bathwater splashing in the background. "What do you mean?"

Rei was sitting in the library by now, so he had to whisper. "Why don't they like each other?" he asked, writing in his notebook.

"_I _don't know. Why don't you like Rin?"

"Because he's arrogant and incredibly obstinate," Rei hissed.

"Wait. I'll ask Makoto." Haru covered the phone and Rei heard him call for Makoto.

"Wait! You don't have to call him in if you're having a bath!" Rei cried. A few people looked at him oddly, and the old librarian put a finger to her lips and shushed him. He went red.

"Rei wants to know why you and Rin don't get on," he heard Haru say. Then Rei heard the phone hang up.

He stared at it. Clearly someone didn't want him to find out what was going on. He sighed and wrote a list.

**Makoto**

**× Says he 'can't go' near the prison or the old peoples' home…**

**× Suspicious white powder on swimsuit – sugar? salt? cocaine? crushed up bones?**

**× Knows how to break into a house?**

**× Seems to be hiding something**

**Rin**

**× Arrogant and easily angered**

**× Doesn't want Makoto in the swim club?**

**× Has been seen looking at Haruka like he misses him**

**He looked down at his list. It didn't explain much, but it might be useful later on. Rei put the notebook back into his bag and left the library.**


End file.
